I’m super excited to welcome my first ever guest blogger to the Lair!!!

Caridad and I both write for Entangled Publishing and we finally met in person at the RT Convention last year. When she approached me about spreading the word for her fund raising effort for the Jersey Shore, I jumped at the chance to host her here…

I’ll turn over the blog to Caridad now… J

I know New Jersey is called the Garden State, but for me the real heart and soul of New Jersey is the Jersey Shore with its miles and miles (130 to be precise) of beaches and of course, the boardwalks. The first one appeared in Atlantic City in 1870 and it is currently the world’s largest.

For me, the boardwalks are the place where all of New Jersey comes together. Rich or poor, all different races and ethnicities, it all comes together on the boardwalks where people come to not only have fun and relax, but live and work.

When Hurricane Sandy struck, it destroyed so many things along the Jersey Shore. Homes and businesses and of course, the boardwalks. The destruction is almost hard to believe unless you’ve either lived through a catastrophe like this or can go and view it firsthand.

As I saw the damage to the homes, businesses and boardwalks in my area, I knew I had to do something to help to rebuild and restore the Jersey Shore. For that reason, I’m donating my share of the proceeds from sales of THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE, which is set in Atlantic City, to the Hurricane Sandy NJ Relief Fund. My hope is that we can start to get things back to normal so that all the people who live and work in the area can resume their lives.

Here is a little blurb about THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE:

Prince Alexander Ivanov is scrambling to save his reputation and his livelihood. One of the Russian Nights Casino’s hostesses has disappeared, and his business is suddenly under investigation by the FBI for associations with the mob and money laundering.

Special Agent Kathleen Martinez has no patience with rich, entitled aristocrats, especially one like Alexander Ivanov whom she believes is involved in the vicious human trafficking ring which she’d tried—and failed—to shut down two years earlier. With a second chance to bring him to justice, she goes undercover in the casino, but instead of facing the villain she expected, she finds herself battling a sizzling attraction to the man.

Now, forced to work together to trace the source of the illegal activities, the danger—and the passion between them—grows out of control, and they slowly begin to realize the biggest danger isn’t to the casino, it’s to their lives…and to their hearts.

Thank you for letting me visit, Lisa! I appreciate you letting me help spread the word about this campaign. For those of who would like to help out, post this where you can:

Best-selling author Caridad Pineiro is helping to rebuild the shore by donating proceeds of her latest romantic suspense release, THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE, from now until March 1, 2013. Caridad’s share of the proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief fund. THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE is available for download at Amazon via this link: http://amzn.to/UFCKRO or at B&N via this link: http://bit.ly/WxipEv.